Labour Bans Saudi Arabia over Yemen Human Rights Abuse

The Labour Party has barred Saudi Arabia and Sudan from participating in its conference starting in Brighton this Sunday.

In response to this, the League of Arab States wrote to Labour MPs to tell them that their reception and dinner will be cancelled, due to Saudi Arabia and Sudan not being welcome at the Labour Party Conference.

This shock move from Labour comes after months of criticism against Saudi Arabia, who are accused of human rights violations and supporting various terrorist organisations across the globe.

Jeremy Corbyn’s position is no surprise. He has repeatedly called upon the UK government to stop selling weapons to the Saudi regime, arguing UK-made weapons were used in the Yemen civil war.

A Saudi-led coalition has waged a war in Yemen since 2015, to support the government and strengthen the Saudis’ position in the region. Thousands of civilians have died since the start of the conflict, and a strong suspicion of crimes against humanity, perpetrated by Saudi-backed troops in Yemen against the Houthi rebels has been revealed.

The Saudi-led coalition is accused of pushing thousands of civilians to starvation, implementing a total blockade of the country from land, sea and air. The British government, by selling weapons to the Gulf region, is part of the coalition.

Corbyn’s decision to bar Saudi Arabia from his party’s annual conference next week also suggests he would not be afraid to cut military and diplomatic ties with the Saudi regime over its war on Yemen if he becomes prime minister.

“Following evidence of war crimes committed by Saudi Arabia in its bombing campaign in Yemen and other large scale human rights abuses, the NEC [National Executive Committee] agreed that the embassy’s application to attend the Labour Party conference would not be accepted.”

This bold move from Labour shows indicates what a Corbyn-led government will look like if Labour wins the next General Election.

Comments

I am UK political writer for Scisco Media, editor for RazorNews and Labour Party campaigner in South Manchester. Over the years I have written for many radical political newspapers, journals and blogs.